I've always been an advocate of keeping former players involved in the club, where they have skills to offer. Leicester do that, keep died-in-the-wool Leicester men involved in their operation top to bottom. Not afraid to bring in outsiders when specific talents are needed, but a backbone of talented clubmen. And over the close season Sale have moved towards that philosophy. The mudman of Lions, England and Sale rugby has been appointed to the board of the club. Fran Cotton's combined rugby and business nous can only add to the talent already there. Jos, too, has been called in from the wilderness. Sometimes under the cosh from the fans, Jos was only too ready to pull on the blue shirt and give his all the next weekend. Mixing in that commitment with Jos's undoubted rugby skills can only improve the coaching on offer. PSA & Kingsley, outsiders once but now Sale men through-and-through, recognise that. And now Pete Anglesea's been added to the mix. Another Sale clubman, if you cut Big Red I'm sure he'd bleed blue. He bled enough times for Sale at the coalface of ruck and maul.

I caught up with Pete at the Press Day, and tried to get a handle on just what he'd be doing. I first asked him if he was happy to be back involved with the senior squad?

Pete: Absolutely yes. I've been away for twelve months I suppose working more on the commercial side of things and the community side of things. Its good to be back in day-to-day involvement with the first team and the first team squad.

An intriguing answer – did I not recall that Pete was to look after those youngsters close to the first team? I probed a little further, hoping to nail him down. Can you describe your role?

Pete: Im actually gonna be helping Kingsley out for next year. Basically any lads that aren't involved with the first team squad at [any particular] moment, or week to week, will be involved with me. I'll be looking at [what it will take] to get them in the first team. I'll be responsible for the A-team games. And I'll be responsible for just looking at the academy lads and bringing those academy lads through as well.

Ah, the academy lads – knew I'd been right there! But it seemed that there was a bit more to it. Still needed more detail. So I asked him, “How's do you feel its going so far?”

Pete: Well its early days yet. I've had quite a large involvement over the past couple of weeks with Kingsley and the first team helping with the lineouts and helping with the scrummaging and the mauling. So it is early days yet. My role will get bigger the more games that come around especially with the analysis sort of stuff.

Pete's answer perhaps provided a clue to his involvement, already looking to the future. In the meantime I went back to the youngsters. I wanted to know if he saw any of the youngsters breaking through this year, particularly in this early part of the season, perhaps to challenge our World Cup players on their return?

Pete: Phillippe, Kingsley, James Wade, Jos and myself are all looking at the guys that will be starting off this season, we want those guys to be chomping at the bit and playing really, really well with twelve month's further experience that they've got under their belts, and we want to make it hard for the guys coming back from the world cup to be getting in the team.

He wasn't to be nailed down. I was left to draw my own conclusions. And I did. One thing the supporters have complained about is the apparent lack of talent coming through to the first team. Perhaps we shouldn't complain with the likes of Eifion, Ben Foden, Wiggy, Charlie, Magnus, Jonesy, Daisy, Sean Cox, Chris Mayor and David Tait having made it to the top table, with Mike Hills, Selorme Kuadey, Matt Riley and others knocking on the door. Perhaps its because not all of the recent arrivals have blazed the trail that Steve Hanley, Mark Cueto and Charlie did. Make no mistake, some serious talent has been developed here. But like all addicts, we want more. And Pete's function is to help those youngsters across the gap. Perhaps to provide a role model for some, or to instil the hardness that others may yet lack. To point out where skills are lacking, and to ensure those issues are addressed. At the same time Pete will have the unenviable task of soothing the fevered brows of those competitive beasts who haven't made the first team squad, but who think they should have. And analysing where they can improve and helping them do so. It seems to me that Big Red will bridge the gap between the top twenty two in any particular week, and those youngsters who have not yet emerged, blinking, into the daylight from the academy. All those in between will fall into his remit, included I expect those returning from injury. He starts from a position where he has the respect of his former fellow professionals and his stature within the club is such that the youngsters will know that he's been there, and done that. But its a balancing act, a fine line. And as a former back-row forward, Pete knows all about fine lines. And if he prevents one of ours leaving the club because he's not getting enough first team rugby, or speeds the passage of a couple of the young players into the first team, then Pete will be treading that fine line again, and getting away with it again too!

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